Patrick
by Audra Markwell
Summary: Somebody's not happy about Jack and Sally's relationship. Review if you want, but please, no flames.


**Author's Note: **I'm gonna update when I can. I'm working on about ten another stories, not to mention, I'm just busy with life and stuff. Also, whoever said this was a "love triangle"? You all know who Sally wants! Another thing: There is not going to be a "jealous Jack".

"Sally, pass me the Worm's Wort," Jewel said, stirring the simmering broth in the huge cauldron.

Sally went over to the small wooden cupboard, rummaged through it, located the bottle and handed it to her creator's wife. Jewel took uncorked the bottle and dumped some of the clear liquid into the cauldron. Sally resumed setting up the dinner tray for the man they were cooking dinner for.

"Ladies," Dr. Finklestein called from upstairs. "Is dinner ready? Igor and I are waiting!"

"Coming, dear," Jewel called back. She looked at Sally, and then down at the soup. "Well, that's done, dear. Let's bring it up to the doctor. I'll bring up some of the soup and you bring up the bowls and spoons."

"All right," Sally leaned down and brought four clay bowls out of the cupboard, and a handful of soup spoons out of a drawer. She then followed Jewel upstairs, both women walking unsteadily on the ramp staircase.

"There are my lovely ladies," the doctor said when they came into the laboratory. Igor was sitting nearby, practically bouncing out of his seat at the prospect of dinner. Jewel ladled soup into the four bowls and the four of them sat down to eat.

It had been a few months since Jewel had come into their lives. Dr. Finklestein had started building her when Sally became very rebellious, and brought her to life at Christmas. He had called his "jewel", and soon the name stuck. Days after Christmas, Dr. Finklestein and Jewel had married. This prompted quite a change. The doctor became less ornery and more patient with Sally. He also stopped treating Igor and Sally as servants and insisted that they eat with Jewel and the doctor, much like any other family.

Sally had been the doctor's first human creation. A living rag doll, she was made with artificial human skin, had a metal frame skeleton, and was stuffed with dead leaves, collected from the woods surrounding their town, Halloween Town, and was sewn together with blue thread. She had a beautiful face, full red lips, and long red hair that went down to her bottom.

Jewel had a body similar to Sally's, but her face was made to look exactly like Dr. Finklestein's: odd-shaped head, small eyes, the same almost toothless mouth. She even literally had half of the doctor's brain. The doctor had given her this gift with the idea that they would think the same way, have the same personality, have the same likes and dislikes, etc.

Sally rather liked Jewel. She had become something like Sally's mother and the doctor had, since his marriage, had become something of a father.

About twenty minutes later, Jewel and Sally were back in the kitchen, doing the dishes. Once the bowls, spoons and cauldron were cleaned, Jewel looked at Sally and asked, "What are your plans for the evening, Sally?"

"I'm going for a walk," Sally said.

"You've been taking quite a few walks lately, Sally,"

"I like the fresh air."

"Well, all right," Jewel said. "But be sure to be back in an hour." The doctor and Jewel were like any other set of parents: they had a curfew for Sally. She didn't like it much, but she felt it was better than being constantly confined to the tower and its grounds.

"All right," Sally said. She pulled open the heavy front door and stepped out into the night.

It was a clear, chilly night. As Sally walked down the uneven steps towards the front gate, she listened to the sound of crickets chirping. Sally smiled as she entered Halloween Town Square. The only sounds were the constant splashing of water pouring into the fountain and the steady, beautiful music of the town band.

Sally walked at a leisurely pacing, smiling at the band and the various citizens as she passed them. Every person, demon, and monster she saw cheerfully waved at her. Soon, Sally reached the giant iron gate, stepped through it, and found herself in her favorite place: the Halloween Town cemetery.

Sally walked across the cemetery, passing the patch of Deadly Night Shade, the plant she used to use to poison the doctor when she wanted to leave the tower. She hadn't used the plant in months, and the little patch was quite overgrown. Sally then remembered that the plant was quite useful in different potions, and made a mental note to take some to the local witches.

Sally looked up and smiled.

Spiral Hill stood in the distance, accented by a huge full moon.

Spiral Hill and this cemetery held so many dear memories for her.

It was here she had met her love, Jack. It was here, as she listened to him lament his loneliness in song, she realized that they were kindred souls. It was here, on Spiral Hill, they had their first kiss.

She climbed Spiral Hill and sat down, her stitched legs dangling. She breathed in the autumn air and relished the eerie silence around her as she looked down at the residential side of Halloween Town.

Suddenly, fingers slipped through hers. Sally looked down and smiled at the bony hand holding hers.

"Sorry I'm late," Jack Skellington said.

"It's all right," Sally said. "I got away sooner than I thought."

"How long have you been here?" Jack asked.

"A minute or two," Sally said. "I'm just thinking, enjoying the night."

"I'll leave you to your thoughts and your view, then," Jack said, pretending to get up. Sally, smiling, held firm to his hand. Jack sat back down and she snuggled up close to him.

"It's gotten better, now that you're here," she whispered.

Jack put an arm around her and kissed her. Sally happily returned the kiss, and repositioned herself so that she was sitting in his lap. Jack leaned his head against hers, and put his arms around her. Together they sat enjoying the night and each other.

After an hour, Sally looked up at Jack and gave him a gentle kiss.

"I have to go," she said. "The doctor is expecting me."  
"All right," Jack sighed. He pulled her close and kissed her.

Hand in hand, they stood up and walked towards the cemetery gate. When they reached it, Jack wrapped his arms around Sally and gave her such a kiss she thought (not minding, of course) that it would never end. When he let her go, Sally could tell how reluctant he was to do so.

"Sally?" Jack asked.

"Yes?"

"When are you going to tell the doctor…..about us?"

"I don't know," Sally replied honest. "It will be soon, I promise."

Jack smiled at her, and gave her one more kiss. When it ended, Sally smiled, opened the gate, and slipped through it. She walked as casually as she could back towards town, which was hard due to her being so happy she wanted to dance.

A few seconds later, Sally heard the cemetery gate open and shut. She knew that Jack had just left the cemetery and had no doubt taken the shortcut back to his house.

Sally sighed. This was hard on her, but she knew it was twice as hard on Jack.

Ever since she and Jack had had their first kiss on Christmas Eve, they kept their relationship secret, meeting whenever Sally could get away, always at the cemetery.

Nobody knew of their romance. To everyone, especially the doctor, they were merely acquaintances.

They never told anyone of their love for each other. Sally had asked that it be that way.

She was afraid of the doctor finding out.

Sure, the doctor may have been much kinder since his marriage to Jewel, but he still tended to be possessive of Sally. She had been his very first human creation.

She was afraid that the doctor would put an end to Sally and Jack's romance.

Sally's logic told her that the doctor would likely approve of their relationship and encourage it. After all, Jack was like a son to the doctor.

However, Sally's heart told her to keep her secret from the doctor. She couldn't bear it if she were forbidden to see Jack. She knew this was possible. After all, the doctor used to confine her to the tower when she was restless.

Would he confine her to the tower again when he found out Sally was in love?

She had no idea.

The truth had to come out eventually.

Within minutes, Sally reached the tower and slid through the gate.

Looking up at the giant, looming, lopsided tower, Sally made her decision.

It was now or never.

"Sally? Is that you?" Dr. Finklestein called as Sally opened the door.

"Yes," Sally called back. She shut the door and looked up as the doctor rolled out of his laboratory, onto the landing at the top of the long, winding ramp staircase.

"Excellent," the doctor shouted down to her. "Would you come up here, please?"

"Yes, sir," Sally said. She began to walk up the staircase. "I'd like to talk to you, if that's all right."

"Of course, my dear," the doctor said. Sally watched as he disappeared from the landing, and she knew that he had gone back into the lab.

When Sally reached the landing, she passed her small bedroom. Glancing out the room's window, she could see Jack's tower across town, directly across from Dr. Finklestein's tower.

Just then, the doctor came out of the lab. Stopping by the doorway, he gestured for Sally to come over to him. As she walked toward him, he pulled the lab door closed.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor?" Sally asked.

"Yes," Dr. Finklestein said. He looked up at her and smiled. "My dear, do you realize what today is?"

Sally frowned. She couldn't think of anything special or important.

"Wednesday?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Besides that," the doctor laughed. Sally shook her head, and the doctor sighed. "Sally, today is a year to the day I built you."

"All right," Sally said. She couldn't think why the doctor was bringing this up.

"Today is something of a special occasion," he said. "Well, it is for me, anyway." he added with a shrug when he didn't get a response.

"Well, anyway, I've decided to celebrate the occasion, and give you something," Dr. Finklestein said with a proud smile.

"Give me something?" Sally asked. The doctor didn't seem to have anything on him.

"Yes," the doctor said. "Something special. Something that I've got and you deserve to have."

"Igor?" Sally said with a small smile. She definitely didn't have one of those.

"No, dear," Dr. Finklestein said with a chuckle. "Sally, I've been thinking: you've been restless, outgoing, for many months now. I think you'd like company. So….well, I've made you this."

The doctor opened the lab door. When it was opened fully, Sally stared into a pair of eyes, belonging to a face much like hers. She gasped.

Before her stood a young man around the age she was built to be, in his early to mid-twenties. He was built just like her, crooked blue stitches all over his body. His pants and shirt were like her dress, sewn together out of various fabrics and patterns. His shoes were black, like hers. His hair was brown, and his eyes were big and bright like hers.

"He's……he's……" Sally stuttered.

"A rag doll, like you," Dr. Finklestein said proudly. "And built the same way you were. Real brain, metal skeleton, stuffed with leaves."

The male rag doll took Sally's hand into his own stuffed, stitched-up hand and kissed it like any proper gentleman.  
"Hello," he said sweetly. "You must be Sally. The doctor didn't give enough credit to your beauty." Amidst her surprise, Sally blushed.

"His name is Patrick," the doctor said happily. "Igor and I have been working on him for weeks. He's yours."

"You mean my……" Thinking of Jack, Sally could not bring herself to say any word like "lover", "boyfriend," "mate", or "significant other".

"Your companion," the doctor said. "Someone like you. Someone who sees the world the way you do."

"Someone to……be with?" Sally asked. "Like marry?"

"Oh, goodness no!" the doctor said. "Not yet, anyway. We'll see how things go. Perhaps you'll merely be friends. The point is, you finally have a friend."

"He's…..wonderful," Sally said. Patrick smiled. Sally felt horrible. She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Now, my dear, before you go off to bed, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" the doctor asked kindly.

"Nothing," Sally said. She couldn't say anything. Her hand was still in Patrick's. "It's nothing at all."


End file.
